Nevada Brings in Nearly $6 Million in Marijuana Taxes in Fourth Month of Legalization

In July, the state of Nevada officially legalized recreational marijuana. And while there were some initial bumps with dispensaries not having enough supply for customer demand, it appears things have begun to operate much more smoothly.

Nevada officials announced that the state generated $5.8 million in tax revenue from marijuana in October. This is particularly notable because in September, the state only raised $4.7 million, $1 million less than the next month. These numbers are also good news for Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, whose office projected the state would bring in an average of $5 million per month from July 2017 to July 2019 from marijuana taxes. In only their fourth month of legalization, Nevada's already bringing in nearly $1 million more than expected.

Nevada's early success continues to show how marijuana legalization can bring large amounts of money for states. Since legalizing marijuana in 2014, Colorado's raised more than $500 million from cannabis taxes. And in January, California will legalize marijuana, meaning the largest state in America will be bringing in who knows how much revenue from the industry.

The Nevada marijuana industry is only in its early stages and there's a lot of issue that still need to be resolved. The state is still considering allowing marijuana lounges, which would be particularly useful in Las Vegas where millions of tourists visit every year but do not have a legal place to use any cannabis they buy.

But Nevada's success, along with every other state that's legalized marijuana, will continue to encourage more states to adopt recreational cannabis in the coming years.